Fate Shift
by Clarke18
Summary: During the Fifth War one twenty-two year old Jolon Grey an 1st generation Magus, Enforcer and Apprentice of Kischer Zelretch Schweinorg has been selected as a Master of Assassin. How will this change the Fates of the Participants. (Reworking of the UBW Scenario)
1. Arrivals

**_This is a repost and edit of the First Chapter of the story. I would like to take this time to thank Fierdin for pointing out my error with Zelretch and also would like to say thank you to everyone who reviews your advice and observations are always appreciated and hope that they continue._**

**_Also in regards to my O.C and his mostly vague past, well I plan on revealing that as I go maybe with an occasional side chapter going into more detail on the characters and there relationship to one another._**

**_With that being said Let The Wheel of Fate Turn (Sorry had to do it ;P) _**

**_FUYUKI CITY, JAPAN, 20 DAYS BEFORE THE HEAVENS FEEL_**

"Fuyuki City, I've finally arrived." Jolon Grey said to himself with an air of relief.

He had spent the last two months using incredibly roundabout and not altogether legal ways to make his way to the city in secret for the fifth Heaven's Feel.

The Heaven's Feel the war for the Holy Grail. A confrontation between seven different magi and their servants, summoned heroes of legend. The prize for this conflict the Grail an all powerful wish granting device and the use of the Heaven's Feel, The Third True Magic.

That is why Jolon found himself here going so far as to fake his own death on an Apostle Hunt to cover his tracks. That being in of itself is an incredibly difficult thing to pull off involving a homunculus husk he spent the last two years preparing and hundreds of unnoticeable impulse and hypnotism spells on the other enforcers so they would see said stand-in and accept him for dead without delving to deep at least for awhile.

Jolon was a magi an enforcer for the Clock Tower in London and a first generation magus. He was brought into the association at the age of thirteen as an apprentice after a series of strange events even Jolon couldn't put down had the apparently named Wizard Marshal Kischur Zelretch Schweiorg offering him a place there.

He accepted moving from his home in Halifax overseas to London where he began to study with gusto. He delved in to multiple forms of magecraft absorbing as much as he could on the different fields of study. While he was brought to Clock Tower as Zelretch's apprentice his master was generally occupied with other "important" duties in the form of travelling between dimensions and looking for things to amuse himself with leaving him to more or less teach himself with little to no help from the staff.

While Jolon had talent and could quickly grasp most of the more obtuse and esoteric forms of magecraft he found himself taken in more by the more... violent forms of the arts reading the battlefield much more effectively than the books. With that his master had transferred him to the enforcers at the age of sixteen. It was here he began to train excelling in dispatching his opponents quickly with the application of his magecraft burning his enemies to cinders no thanks to his natural affinity to the wind and fire elements.

It was during these years in the enforcers and his propensity towards overkill with his flames that they begun to refer to him with various nicknames the ones that stuck though seemed to be The Grey Flame or even simpler The Grey or any other variation of the name which he didn't mind _much_.

When he was seventeen one year after being transferred into the enforcers something curious happened to him. During a hunt for a sealing designate he found himself face to face with the target, a Dead Apostle. He was clearly outmatched against the monster that was once a man and surrounded by the bloodsuckers ghouls with no backup with them either dead or occupied by the ghouls in the surrounding village it took up shop in.

Seeing no way out and the Apostle moving in to finish him Jolon took a chance and working his Circuits to their absolute limit adjusted the air composition and introducing a little fire catching the Apostle off guard enough that it didn't have time to prepare as it, its ghouls and the building were blasted to pieces and Jolon finding himself buried under the ruble.

It was at this point that the young magus had completely accepted his death for the most part his only regret being to die before he had a chance to prove himself to the Clock Tower who held no secret in their general distaste for him and a few other members of his peer group based on the fact that they were simply first generation.

For Jolon this may have been the inciting incident which would lead him down the path into the grail war. As he lay there buried under the ruble he felt something itch in his right hand as if something was engraving itself into it. At the time though he was in no place to examine the sensation as he was buried under half a ton of rubble and the slight discomfort was the least of his problems.

He began to dig himself out reinforcing his body as best he could to prevent more significant damage as he clawed his way out. inch by inch he made painfully slow but undeniable progress until he finally broke through into clean air and sunlight.

After the countless hours Jolon spent digging himself out of what otherwise would have been his tomb he found himself lying down looking at the sky in a deep haze. Knowing that he couldn't stay there he willed his tired and battered body to move it was at this time he noticed something his right hand had a strange set of markings adorning, it a stylized dirk with two snakes twisting around it.

Jolon thought enough to cover up said markings and keep them secret from his associates as they began to make their way to his location to retrieve the designate after finally finishing off the ghouls in the surrounding area.

After his return he found himself in front of his master Zelretch asking what the symbols meant. The moment that he looked upon the symbols the old vampire burst out laughing completely surprised and very pleased with the turn of events.

He began to explain the grail war and that he was selected quite early to be a master for it. He told Jolon of the power of the grail and how it could grant any desire along with the power of the third sorcery.

As Zelretch explained with a rather disturbing grin on his face Jolon began to mull over the opportunity presented to him. He himself did not have a very strong wish that the grail could grant but he was nonetheless intrigued that feeling that he had when the vampire first took him as his apprentice stirring. In his mind the third magic itself was a prize worth fighting for in itself.

With that he began to delve once more into study finding out all he could of the Ritual from books, reports and a helpful amount from one of his teachers a Lord El-Mellio II.

For the next five years he prepared himself which involved multiple training regimes with Zelretch which every single member of the Clock Tower knew better than to ask knowing the old vampires taste in pranks as well as training for the ones unfortunate enough to be his students, gathering funds along with nearly five years spent setting up his staged death so nobody would know of his participation in the war with the exception of his master.

His decision to hide his participation in the ritual was not without serious thought him knowing full well that if one of the more established magus's learned of it they would no doubt endeavor to steal his command spells. With that in mind for most of the five years he tended to conceal them underneath bandages which most of the clock tower bought easily most of them knowing of his status as an enforcer where said wounds could be fairly common.

The homunculus husk he created was a much more difficult task with Jolon spending the better part of two years perfecting the puppet. An Einzbern would have easily created the thing within a day or two maybe three at the most but they had centuries of research and a very successful established method that he could not hope to replicate. Though he didn't need it to walk, talk, think or live for that matter, it would just be a stand in to fool his associates. After multiple failures and false starts Jolon finally had his success, a nigh from perfect homunculus that could easily pass for him even upon close inspection.

The implementation of his double would be simple for Jolon as he thought it through years in advance, he would go on assignment the next chance he got moving on ahead of his peers with the excuse of investigating and kill the Apostle quickly in his workshop. He would then leave the corpse and the homunculus there and set the place on fire, even if for some reason they found out it would take several months to conclude that his double was a homunculus and that is considering if they even gave a damn to which they didn't.

After his plan came through without a hitch he began to make his way to Fuyuki city using mainly illegal means of transport which he got through with a combination of money and carefully applied hypnosis. While these methods were effective in getting him to his destination with zero paper trail it took a long time in which Jolon was not surprised and was prepared for this leaving three months before the ritual was to begin.

And now he was here in Fuyuki city for the most part he was prepared and ready for what he may face in the next month but for now he began to make his way into town he had much to prepare before the ritual began and he had no intention of being caught unprepared with him being less established than the other magi no doubt participating.

**_SHIFT_**

"Well first things first, I need a base." Jolon muttered as he strode the city streets a hiking bag on his back filled with appropriate clothing and a suitcase filled with texts, supplies and other things that he would need for the war.

On the outside Fuyuki wasn't that strange an average sized city where it seems that nothing strange ever went on. In actuality though the city was situated perfectly under a set of lay lines that made the city for large scale magecraft.

Jolon continued on his way down the street paying his surroundings a passive attention while he received curious looks from the people around him due to him standing out with his bulky bags as well as being a foreigner.

He knew where he would look the old factory district that was near the edge of the city at the waterfront due to the fact that many of the buildings were abandoned. A location like that would be perfect for the enforcer to set up his workshop for the duration.

So he continued on his way not paying attention as he bumped into a young woman sending her sprawling to the ground.

"I'm so sorry miss." Jolon said (_In Japanese_) as he snapped back into attention holding out his hand which she took as he pulled her up. "I wasn't paying attention there."

"It's all right I wasn't either." She said with a warm smile as she brushed herself off.

The young women was no doubt still in her teens with long plum coloured hair and matching eyes that at first glance appeared to have no pupils. She stood a good four or five inch's under him and she looked on him with a curious smile.

"You aren't from around here are you sir, taking in the sights?" She asked, a warm smile on her face

"You could say that, I'm going to be in town for the next six or seven weeks on business. I actually just arrived?" He said with a small smile.

"Oh and what is it that you do Mr.?" She asked.

"It's Grey, Jolon Grey and you can call me a contractor. I work with a corporation in Britain that is hoping to expand into Japan and they decided to send me to Fuyuki to scout out opportunities." Jolon said reciting his cover story with a casual smile.

"Oh wow that sounds really exciting" She said.

"Not really, it's actually a lot of meetings, paperwork and waiting around." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh that's too bad, maybe you will have an opportunity to explore in between your meetings." she said with sympathetic smile before she looked at her watch. "I'm sorry Grey-san but I have to get home and prepare dinner, it was nice speaking to you and hope you have a nice stay.

"Yes it was nice to speak to you miss... I'm sorry I didn't get your name." He said sheepishly.

"Oh yes I'm sorry my name is Sakura Matou." She said with a polite smile.

The moment that the name crossed her lips Jolons eyebrow ever so slightly quirked up in surprise.

"Well I hope you have a good day Ms. Matou." Jolon said maintain his demeanor as he watched her leave.

After she was gone the pleasant smile on his face dropped and his features furrowed as he went into deep thought.

"Matou huh, how surprising." He muttered to himself knowing full well the history of the family in question.

With the thoughts mulling over in his mind he turned and continued on his way.

**_FUYUKI CITY, JAPAN, 16 DAYS UNTIL THE HEAVENS FEEL_**

Jolon was currently sitting at a small table inside a small cafe in the middle of the Fuyuki shopping centre. He found an appropriate base two days ago and was in the midst of setting up his workshop and thought it may be a good idea to familiarize himself with the layout of the city beyond just sending out familiars as it would most likely be a couple of days before the opposition would make its move and even then it would be unlikely that it would occur in the middle of the day in the middle of a shopping centre while he also was pretty sure he was not identified yet.

That being said he was airing on the side of caution as he had a few said familiars out scouring the immediate area for any form of disturbance, to which there was none.

Jolon sighed running his hand through his shoulder length chestnut hair then getting up to head to the counter to order. The barista at the counter gave him a smile as he ordered a coffee with a double shot of espresso and a scone which he sorely needed.

Over the past four days he had been busy with the aforementioned hunt for the base and setup of said base has left him without the appropriate amount of sleep that he was used to. With the workshop now nearly finished he had taken the time to explore the foreign city.

He had only been to Japan a few times and that was when his master decided to bring him along and on more than one occasion promptly abandon him for a few days for giggles. Unfortunately for Jolon that was one of his masters more mild forms of amusement so mild in fact that it barely registered.

It was at this time as he sat back down that he thought back to his training for the Grail War and felt himself paling slightly as he dredged up the memories.

When he showed Zelretch the markings on his right hand and was told of what they meant Jolon insisted that his training be increased to prepare himself the look that he gave him before they began should have clued him into what the next five years would have in store for him.

Needles to say the next six months and multiple occasions thereafter the training began, mostly spent jumping from one parallel dimension to another through the use of the old bloodsuckers Second Magic to 'prepare' him but Jolon doubted that was his master's only reason as it rarely is.

Shaking his head slightly to banish the thoughts he took a sip of his coffee and went into the small bag he brought with him and pulled out a couple local maps and began to study them marking down notable landmarks to investigate later.

He had to prepare and garner as much information as he possibly could, he already had one thing that may turn up as a double-edged sword, the fact that he was basically an complete unknown here as his manner of dress and his features set him up as both an unassuming foreign businessman to most but to someone savvy enough he could be identified as a Master if he drew too much attention to himself.

His features as they were at the same time very striking but easily disregarded in large crowds of people. He was a lean man to say the least but years in the Enforcers and his Apprenticeship with The Wizard Marshall gave him a countenance and physique that many would kill for. His Chestnut hair was combed and tied back into a neat ponytail that hung around to his shoulder blades with some stray hairs in the front hanging down around his face. His face was unassuming, a face that bellied an easy going nature when he was not on the job, a genuine kind expression that was emphasized by his dark forest green eyes. When he was on the Job however he wore the expression of the Enforcer his features hardened and became sharper almost dangerous losing much of the kindness that he generally had, even to his colleagues the sudden changes in mood for most of them was off-putting and it was from this Jolon later mused may have been one of the factors in his nicknames.

It was the latter expression that he was currently wearing as he studied the maps in front of him his gaze focused on Mount Enzou and Ryuudou Temple the most likely spot that the grail will manifest at the end of the War.

He would remain in the same spot for the majority of the afternoon silently studying the maps and planning how to best proceed only passively aware of his surroundings.

**_SHIFT_**

It was during this time a priest walked past the large window that gave the cafe a large view of the surrounding shopping centre and stopped looking inside towards the man in the dark pressed suit with a dark coat draped on the back of his chair and wearing black leather gloves that didn't completely hide the edges of the markings on his right hand.

Kirei Kotomine stood there for a solid minute before a dark smile crept onto his face as he continued on his way.

**_FUYUKI CITY, JAPAN, 11 DAYS UNTIL THE HEAVENS FEEL_**

Jolon was sitting down in the break room of an old abandoned factory which was now his base of operations. Said break room was used once by the maintenance staff and was situated in the basement apart from the factory proper and was at the opposite edge of the boiler room.

The location was perfect in Jolon's mind with it being both at the edge of the city away from prying eyes and the fact that one of the lay lines ran through the location making it a good place to summon the servant. He already set up basic bounded fields that would alert him to intrusion and compel any mundane person who would happen to pass by to turn away or ignore the area.

Jolon was in the midst of reviewing information he ascertained over the last nine days through the use of Familiars to identify any possible masters before the war began. He knew for a fact that the current Tohsaka head one Rin Tohsaka has been chosen as a master and he also has identified Einzbern Homunculi in the city. The Matou's were a different story with the apparent head a Shinji Matou not displaying any talent at all in Magecraft and was currently having trouble finding out the status of Sakura Matou.

With Tohsaka he was most definitely unsurprised that she would be participating and mildly comforted in the fact that she was here. He had met Rin on occasion when Zelretch on his famous/infamous whims decided to visit the young head of the family taking Jolon along with him when he didn't abandon him that is. She was most certainly a magus he could tell the moment he met her when she was nine and he was fourteen and even more so when he met her again a couple times over the years. It was the way she carried herself and the way she behaved which set her apart from most girls her age even though from what he could tell she worked hard to put up a facade of the perfect student.

The Einzberns on the other hand would definitely present a problem not in the form of their goals as they were not that departed from the Tohsaka's as they wished to re-establish the Third Magic the entire point of the ritual itself. What he worried about was the lengths they would go to gain the prize. During the last war the adopted an outsider into the family to act as the representative for the war, The Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya Master of Saber after the War ended in Failure he disappeared but Jolon thought it was highly likely that his inclusion was a factor in the ferocity and ruthlessness of the fourth. With that the thought in what the Einzberns brought this time around made him feel uneasy.

Other than that he wasn't able to find any other potential masters which bothered Jolon to no end as he wanted to know more about the battlefield before he charged in. He knew though it couldn't be helped and he knew that the others would reveal themselves sooner or later instead began to focus on his next concern, his servant.

All masters in the Grail War were required to summon a servant a human, a legend who ascended to such levels of fame that they were uplifted after death to the Throne of Heroes as Heroic Spirits beings that resembled forces of nature more than anything.

And Jolon was about to summon one.

While his command spells engraved on his right hand would ensure that the servant would obey he had to be cautious all the same. Heroic spirits tended to be very hard to control and prideful depending on who heeded the call and as a result were the cause of more than one master's demise.

He knew this though the moment he accepted the role of master he began down a path that can in multiple ways be the end of him all for the grail, the third sorcery.

"Well it's no time to be dawdling it's time to get ready." Jolon said to himself.

The room itself was the proper size to begin the process as he cleared the tables out of the way and began tracing the outline of the summoning circle with chalk. When that was finished he began to trace over that with the mixture of lead paint silver and his own blood to properly prepare said circle.

After an hour it was ready. Jolon looked at the results nodding to himself in approval at the results of his work in front of him.

Getting up from his crouch he paused for a moment as he once more thought of what he was about to undergo. He knew whom he aimed to summon planning so for a long time and has made the necessary preparations to do so.

"It's time." Jolon said almost a whisper as he raised his right hand and focused inward focussing on the mental image of a crack of lightning as his circuits hummed to life.

The familiar sense of discomfort came with it as his circuits came to life as he began the chant:

**_Let Silver and Steel be the Origin._**

**_Let the Stone and the Archduke of contracts be the base._**

As he spoke the outlines of the circle came to life glowing a pale blue as he continued to push his circuits with his body feeling as though it was heating up.

**_Let Blood be what I pay tribute to._**

**_Let rise the wall against the wind that shall fall._**

**_Let who heeds me be cloaked in the shadows of misdirection and cunning_**

The glow from the circle became more intense as he continued and sweat was beginning to form on his brow as he continuously pumped od feeding the summoning ritual.

**_Let the three-forked road from the Kingdom rotate._**

**_Let it be filled. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again._**

**_Let it be filled fivefold each turn and break asunder with each turn._**

**_Let the one who heeds my call come forth under the Grail to the world._**

With these final words a brilliant flash of light occurred and Jolon was forced to shield his eyes.

After a moment the light died down as the dust began to settle in the now dark room and all was silent until a voice broke the silence.

"I ask you, who summoned me under the class Assassin, are you my master?" the voice said but Jolon was unable to make out the speaker as his eyes were still slightly dazzled from the lights of the summoning.

The voice itself was female though it sounded distinctly hollow as if speaking under a mask.

"Yes, I am the one who summoned you to this time and place to do battle for the holy grail." Jolon said with a proper tone of both respect and strength.

As his eyes readjusted to the now less bright room he could make out the features of the Servant in front of him.

She stood a good four inches beneath Jolons five foot eleven and had a slim athletic build, her skin was dark almost like obsidian. She wore a pair of breeches and a cloth bikini which bared he midriff. She had long dark hair that looked almost purple tied up in a ponytail. The most distinctive thing though was the mask she wore, it was bleached white and in the shape of a skull and would be menacing to more than a few people.

The figure regarded him for a moment then said. "With this our pact is complete. I now ask what are your orders?"

With those words a small smile crept up Jolons face.


	2. Cold Nights

**_And here we are Chapter two. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed and hope that you all will continue on doing so. If you have any questions, concerns or notice any continuity errors I hope that you will bring them to my attention._**

**_So without further ado Let The Wheel of Fate Turn. _**

**_FUYUKI CITY, JAPAN, 7 DAYS UNTIL THE HEAVENS FEEL_**

The early night air blew through the city chilling Jolon who was currently sitting in the central park looking at the old memorial.

He came here entirely due to the connection to the violent and tragic end of the previous Grail war. It was still a mystery to the Magus Association what exactly happened ten years ago. All anyone knew was that when the grail war ended once again in failure and the resulting destruction of the nigh complete vessel caused the Fuyuki fire which claimed the lives of hundreds.

The underlying reasoning behind him being here though for some could probably just be called curiosity. This didn't change the fact that this tragedy may hold some sort of implication for the wars themselves that many may have overlooked, or not. It is known that magic can be an extremely volatile instrument and with the gathered power of the grail the tragedy caused by its destruction may well be a very natural response to the gathered energies being released without a proper outlet in the form of a wish.

At this point in time though this mattered very little as there was no stopping the war, now that almost all the Servants have been summoned. As well, Jolon held no doubt that the Masters were making final preparations and performing early recon like he was.

"Master I have news." A familiar voice greeted him as he turned to see Assassin standing in the shadows as seemed to be her habit.

"What is it?" He said knowing full well if she came to him now it must be incredibly important.

"I have located a Servant and Master at Semina Apartments." She responded dutifully.

He paused for a moment deep in thought before asking. "Are you certain?"

"Yes Master I have been tracking traces of spell work in the area and the source of it seems to centre around the apartment complex. It is far to potent to be just an average magus." She responded coming out of the shadows somewhat revealing her frame in the rapidly fading light.

"A Caster most likely." He muttered, stroking his chin.

He looked up directly at Assassin. "That's good we will be making a move on them soon I think. What of Sakura Matou any news on her." Jolon asked, Sakura was still at this time an unknown her status as a possible Master still being up in the air at this point in time.

"I have followed her for a good portion of the last few days. At first glance she is quite normal spending much time with another student, a boy named Emiya. This doesn't change the fact that the girl and to a lesser extent the boy have power emanating from them." Assassin said in a voice that was almost clinical.

Jolon froze as he heard the name Emiya. He was aware of the name of the famed Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya but was unaware that he had a child.

'No.' He thought. 'It couldn't be.'

"Assassin." Jolon began." Change of plans we are going to make a move on this Master and Servant tonight, if we can't properly engage them we will scope out their defenses and hopefully identify them, perhaps we could get really lucky and end them tonight. After that I want you to focus on the boy understood?"

"What would you have me do with him Master?" She asked a note of curiosity at the sudden change of plans.

"We'll observe for now if he's related to who I think he is. He could be extremely dangerous or he could be uninvolved and unimportant, we'll find out soon at least." Jolon said his tone serious.

"Very well Master." Assassin said bowing her head in acknowledgement.

He nodded. "For now though we will make a move on our friends at the Semina apartments." He said with a small smile.

Jolon glanced once more at the memorial behind him. The sun had now completely set and now the only light came from the streetlights in the distance.

"It's time to go." Jolon said as his eyes narrowed and expression hardened.

"Yes my Master." **__**

**_LATER_**

"Well something is here that's for sure." Jolon said as he stood out in front of the complex his casual choice in words betrayed by the expression on his face.

"This is wrong though." He muttered

Jolon was currently standing at the edge of the bounded field at the Semina apartment buildings. Said field was very well crafted with a primary field set up to alert the occupying Magus of any hostile intruders as well there would no doubt be other less passive traps set up that would no doubt harm those unwary enough to trip them.

What was wrong though was the lack of any other defenses in the surrounding area. Jolon saw no signs of Familiars or any other means of scoping the area in the vicinity.

Something definitely was amiss. A trap was starting to look all the more likely at this juncture.

"Assassin I want you to slip inside and investigate, if you don't detect any form of activity I want you to head back immediately and inform me understood." He said turning to the masked killer behind him.

"Yes my Master." She said bowing her head slightly in confirmation before she melted into the shadows and went in to perform her task.

Jolon knew the abilities of his Servant for the most part as he sent her on multiple tasks over the last few days. Assassin herself had A+ Presence Concealment which allowed her to slip through any defense undetected which made her a boon for information gathering.

When he performed his summoning of the legendary Hassan-i-Sabbah he was honestly surprised when the legendary man in the mountain was in fact a women. On reflection though he shouldn't have been as history and legend could be a very unreliable source for information and could safely be called quite gender biased as well. In the long run though the fact that Assassin was a women meant nothing though as long as she could do her job they would be fine.

Jolon waited for her to return with news. He was currently standing underneath a small tree that sat across the street from the complex, it was about as close he could get without tripping the bounded field.

He shifted slightly as he felt Assassin return, she had been gone for less than five minutes.

"So what's the situation Assassin?" Jolon asked as she materialized from the darkness right beside him.

"Master, I was able to home in on the source of the bounded field..." She said pausing.

He quirked an eyebrow."Yes?"

"The man is dead. I've seen evidence that suggested he has been dead for at least two days." She said.

Jolon's eyes widened in surprise at this unexpected turn it barely showing when he asked. " That's... unexpected." He paused for a moment ." Did you detect any other traps?"

"No Master this field is the only one present." She said.

"The one responsible probably set it up to get people to be cautious and not approach outright. Most likely to buy time."He said as he took a step forward to the edge of the field.

Without so much as slowing his pace he raised a hand and broke down the Bounded Field. It was a fairly simple task as he spent the last quarter of an hour probing the field learning it's function and the way to disable it. While it was easy to break it, to do so without alerting the magi responsible was way beyond Jolan's current level and he wasn't sure that if he disabled this one he would set off another one. Now though that he doesn't have to worry about alerting anyone or tripping anything he simply smashed through the thing and continued into the building.

As he walked down the halls he felt it, the unmistakable presence of magic or the echo at least.

All magi on one level or another had a sixth sense with magic. It comes in different forms for everyone, some perceive it as a sound or some other sensation. Jolon perceived it as a coloured smoke that tended to make it very easy to track down the source as it became thicker and more potent as he got closer to the source.

He was very happy at the fact that he was able to turn it off or he would have spent most of his education at the Clock Tower barely able to make out three steps in front of him and indivertibly smacking into a wall every other minute.

Though early in his education this little issue amused his master to no end.

When he finally made it to the door which was the source of the aura he paused for a moment as he jiggled the locked door handle. He paused and visualized a crack of lightning in his head and felt his circuits hum as he melted the doors lock with absolutely no effort and walked in Assassin right behind him matching his stride.

As soon as he entered he saw the body. It was currently laying face down in a pool of blood and the smell of decomposition was just starting to form in the room. The body was definitely male judging from the build he sported and was one or two inches taller than Jolon.

He walked over to the corpse and knelt down beside it. He then flipped the body onto its back to get a better look at him.

As he looked at him his eyes widened." Well how about that, it has been a while Tobias." He said in mock seriousness as he suppressed a chuckle. He found this development rather amusing despite the implications that he knew this could possibly bring.

Tobias Alston was a member of the Mages Association, he was a researcher generally as well as the tenth heir to the Alston line. The fact that he was a Master surprised him though as he was someone who spent most of his time in the 'Safety' of the Clock Tower content to rest on his laurels and work on his research generally giving the members of less powerful families looks of disdain which made him generally not that popular among a large portion of the Association.

On reflection though he wasn't surprised by the outcome of his participation though. A person like him would no doubt trample on the Servants pride within five minutes and the end result depending on the level of patience of the Servant would come sooner rather than later. A Servant while bound to a Master could find another one should the Servant feel so inclined and when that happened the odds were low that the Master would survive or escape unscathed after the betrayal.

Jolon got up from beside the body and began to investigate the room. It was rather plain and considering who it belonged to he was quite taken aback by the fact that the 'Great Tobias Alston' would stoop to such a humble abode.

As he continued to investigate he was found multiple texts some no doubt from his family library and most no doubt pilfered from the libraries from the Mages Association. As he took a look at them he noticed that a majority of them were quite rare as he sorted through them and piled them into a neat stack on a empty neighboring table.

At this time Assassin was examining him, the books, the room and the body with an analytical gaze that was no doubt a practiced habit for the former leader of the Hasashin. To her the sight of the corpse was about as surprising or disturbing as the changing of the tides.

Pulling himself away from the books he turned to Assassin and said. "Assassin I'm going to need you to take the body back to the workshop, I'm going to be a couple of minutes while I sort through these texts, after I'll make my way back alright."

"As you wish my Master, I trust that you will fine here then?" She said.

"I'll be fine Assassin." He said with a small smile as he turned back to the books.

As she picked up the body, slung it over her shoulder and before she disappeared she said. "Well then be safe then my Master."

Then she was gone leaving Jolon alone in the apartment with only the stale air for company. As he stood there he found himself rather happy, he had just found a potentially powerful enemy dead and the Grail Wars haven't even properly started yet and he was kind enough to leave him with all of his knowledge and possibly even the entirety of his family knowledge depending on the state of his crest.

He shook his head slightly and returned to the task at hand as he turned his attention from the books to the research notes with these he would maybe able to find out what happened or who he summoned.

It didn't take very long to find what he was looking for as there wasn't much in terms of notes mostly due to it just involving the details of the summoning ritual and it took a while to find what he was looking for in the information as Tobias as in when he was alive tended to ramble.

As he picked up a sheet of paper he looked at it for a moment and sighed, his small smile dropping. "Not good." He muttered.

**_LATER_**

"We've got a Caster it seems." Jolon said grimly as he sat down on the old sofa that was part of the break room of the factory which has been his haven for the last eleven days.

"Is that a problem Master?" Assassin said standing in the corner of the room. With the shadows only her bleached white mask was currently visible which made her resemble a floating skull at this moment.

Jolon returned not five minutes ago, after going through the notes he gathered all the books he could he began making his way back to his workshop. He made sure to gather all of the most important things he could and destroyed the rest so only he would be privy to the information, increasing his base of knowledge while destroying his enemies was the most basic form of information gathering Jolon knew and was no doubt a general practice among all magi. As it stood though this put himself a great deal more prepared than the other Masters.

"At this moment no. It seems that our friend the Witch of Betrayal has decided to do away with her Master and as it stands she probably won't be able to make any major movements until she finds a new one and replenishes her prana stores. Which means she won't be able to move for at least a week." He said regarding the floating mask at his side.

"I see, and what are our plans in the mean time then Master?" Assassin said not moving from her position.

"Well for now I would like you to investigate the Emiya kid, at least for the next couple of days see if he is in the war." He responded as he leaned back stretching and then looking at the old dimly lit room he was in with a tired disinterest his vision getting somewhat hazy.

"Very well my Master and what are you planning to do next." She said walking forward somewhat bringing her more clearly into view.

"Well for one thing eat and sleep." He said with a sheepish chuckle, his more serious attitude vanishing.

While it wasn't an argued fact that magi were on a different level than most humans it didn't change the fact that they were most of the time still human and as such were susceptible to pretty much any other mundane human weakness. They had to eat, drink and sleep regularly which is something that Jolon has been neglecting as of late. The last thing that he ate was a cup of instant Ramen when he woke up fifteen hours ago and the length of that sleep wasn't much more than three hours and Jolon was definitely starting to feel the consequences of that.

"I honestly don't think I am going to last much longer at this rate if I don't get proper rest. After that I think I will review some of the books that our friend was kind enough to leave us and see where we are by tomorrow night." Jolon glanced at the clock sitting on the wall of the break room it read 5:57am. "Maybe I should say tonight though."

"Very good Master and what of the body." She said.

"Ah yes, our new roommate he'll be fine in the other room for now I've made sure he won't rot and stink up the place." Jolon said waving his hand dismissively.

The reason why he brought the body to his hideout was that while the books were very nice and could probably bring his Thaumalogy research years ahead of where it was now. This paled in comparison though in the opportunities that getting his hands on the Alston Crest would give him. It wasn't just the possible unearthing of their secrets for which there were no doubt many, it was the fact that Jolon had in his possession the culmination of the Alston families research.

The power this gave him over them was quite absolute seeing as he basically held their fate in his hands. If he deigned to destroy that would be the end of the family to a large extent as they would be brought back to square one and would hold no more power than a first generation magus with deeper coffers and some descent research books in their possession.

That was not his plan though. What he planned on doing was after the War ended (if he even survived) he would return the Crest to the family for a moderate fee. The moderate fee for it though would amount to a small fortune which most likely wouldn't be difficult for them to pay as they were both an established magus family and have been known for hording to a fairly large extent their knowledge, money and any other asset they got their hands on.

In his mind the best part of it was that even with him basically extorting the Family they would probably still just be elated to get their Crest back and would see the 'fee' as a minor inconsequential thing.

Even with the fee there was a strong chance that the family would feel indebted to Jolon which would be a very good thing for him. Having the gratitude and respect of a powerful Magus family could open many doors for any family. They may be more open to offering assistance in times of need for their friends for one thing which could translate to more pull in the mountainous hierarchy that was the Association. To do what Jolon was planning was an incredibly normal thing though other less unscrupulous members may just use what they got as blackmail material and bully the Alston's into an agreement with them which would gain their cooperation and their ire as well which could very well turn around and bite them in the ass later.

All in all such manoeuvrings were just par for the course in the quest for the Root.

"At this juncture though Tobias is not important he's a possible asset that may pay off if I keep him around." Jolon shrugged slightly before continuing. "Though I think it's about time. You should get to the Emiya House before he leaves Assassin."

Assassin bowed her head. "Yes I shall, rest well my Master."

With that she melted into the shadows once more and was gone.

Jolon was now alone in the dimly lit break room nothing but the odd clanking of the old metal piping and sound of dripping water for company. This didn't bother him though he was used to living in much worse conditions. Compared to his 'Advanced Training' with Zelretch this was paradise and he felt like he could fall asleep then and there.

He got up from his seat and walked over to the old refrigerator that was still working surprisingly after years of being left on its own. He opened it up and pulled out a bottle of water and some take out from a Chinese restaurant in the main Shopping district of the city and proceeded to heat it up in the microwave in the corner.

While his food was heating up he took a moment to just lean against the wall and take stock of the situation. At this time he was in a pretty good situation he had discerned the identity of the Caster of this war Medea of Clochis the Witch of Betrayal and has also come across some very encouraging assets that will promise some security if he returned to the Association.

First though he would have to win or at least survive the War for the Grail which was never a guarantee even with his caution and careful planning of his movements.

With three solid beeps signaling that his food was ready he snapped back to attention and pulled his food out and set it on the table and sat down. He took a fork and took a bite of the meal in front of him only to pause, fork still in his mouth.

His face turned bright red and a sweat appeared almost immediately on his face as to him he felt molten lava flow down his throat.

"GAAA!" Jolon exclaimed as he dropped his fork into the plate and clambered for the bottle of water.

He drank deeply chugging back the water quickly and with gusto hopping to cool the inferno that was with throat.

When it was empty he gasped for a solid minute and glared at the plate in front of him. It appeared that in some mix-up he ended up with an order of Mapo Tofu one of the spiciest foods ever to curse the surface of the world and not what he wanted some chicken fried rice. It seemed that when he picked it up he didn't take the time to check his order even when he was about to eat.

Many thought that with Jolons affinity to Fire he could stand a little heat but that couldn't be any more further from the truth. He on no level could stand spicy foods and to come in contact with his most hated enemy in the culinary world unprepared nearly killed him right there.

Jolon got up and walked over to the trash can with the paper plate in hand and dropped in with his trademark enforcer scowl on his face.

"I've survived nearly a decade of Zelretch, I'll be damned if I'm going to be killed by you." He growled at the discarded food in the can.

**_Earlier the previous evening _**

Kirei Kotomine was sitting his desk in his private chambers in his church staring down at the food in front of him with a look that was a mixture of disdain and disappointment that was incredibly uncommon for the priest who rarely felt much in terms of these feelings.

Sitting in front of him in a take-out container was one order of chicken fried rice of which Kirei was in the midst of gazing at it hard enough for it to almost spontaneously combust.

Or that is what a normal person would think if they ever saw said display.

_**And I think I'll leave it here for today. **_

_**Oh and quick note, not that I really doubt anyone reading couldn't guess but my countdown of days is to the true beginning of the grail war as in when Shirou summons Saber the last spirit to be summoned.**_

_**Please review any review good or bad is welcome in my opinion.**_


	3. The Fraga

**_Well another chapter. I was a little worried about this one as I was introducing an established character and my main concern was with getting her right. Please let me know if I did or not all feedback is welcome._**

**_Now let the wheel of FATE turn. _**

**_FUYUKI CITY, JAPAN, 5 DAYS BEFORE THE HEAVENS FEEL_**

"Is this really a wise decision Master?" Assassin said a note of professional caution in her voice.

"No not really, but well what can I do?" Jolon said flatly as he walked down the road with the body of Bazett Fraga McRemitz in his arms.

"You could..." Assassin began.

"Rhetorical Assassin. Now could you help me." Jolon said as he turned his attention back to Bazett.

She was not in good shape her right arm was a mangled mess and it also appeared that she suffered serious head trauma on top of that. If she didn't receive medical attention soon her life would be in danger so Jolon quickened his already rapid pace.

The reason why the Fraga Magus was currently in his arms was a rather complex turn of events. To put simply if it wasn't for the fact that his familiars identified his old acquaintance from the Association he most likely wouldn't have known she was here and she would definitely be dead by now.

Why she was in such a state was itself a mystery which lead to him deciding to take her back to his base to get treated and get information as well make good on the fact that she saved him once and he didn't like to owe favors.

He entered his bounded field with the injured women in tow as he rushed down the stairs to his 'inner sanctum' so to speak and opened the door to his makeshift room as he placed her on the couch so he could safely examine her wounds. She had definitely suffered a concussion for one thing which he treated.

In truth it was the mundane method of treatment of such injuries but it could be said the simpler methods were sometimes the best.

The next thing he did was take off the makeshift bandages on right arm that concealed the rather gruesome injuries done to it .

The fact remained that this women was until recently a Master apparently. It appeared though that someone took exception to that and proceeded to subdue and strip her of her command spells for her Servant. Tearing into her arm with haste before the Servant could most likely do anything in retaliation. With her attacker getting his prize he left with his new Servant leaving her to die of shock and blood loss if not for Jolon coming in and saving her.

He examined the wound in front of him and through magecraft began to do what he could to treat it. Jolon himself learned basic Alchemy when he started his studies which proved valuable when he made the husk that he used in his faked death.

Alchemy in itself could be described partly as the studying the flow of energy in all things as such this translated well to medical magecraft. This was not the only thing about Alchemy there was but in truth this was to Jolon the most crucial point of it.

As he treated and cleaned her wounded arm Assassin was standing two feet behind him watching him and Bazett in case she woke up and tried anything.

This continued for little over an hour until he finished. He did all he could for her. Her life was no longer in danger and her arm for the most part on its own should recover a majority of its previous functionality with time.

He sighed walked over and flopped down in a chair by the table his work done.

"Assassin could you do the patrol alone tonight please. I don't think I will be leaving her side, at least until she wakes up." He said calmly looking over to his Servant who was staring at him intensely.

"What of her?" Assassin asked regarding the unconscious women on the couch.

"I'll be fine even if she wakes up now she will be in no way in any shape to fight. As well I still have the command spells, if she proves hostile and too much for me then I can just call you." Jolon said as he casually scratched the back of his head.

"If you are certain then Master..." She paused and regarded the resting women to her right. "I shall take my leave then."

With that she left leaving no trace of her presence behind as she vanished into the shadows.

With him alone he took a deep sigh and took a moment to collect his thoughts on the issue sleeping soundly on his 'bed'.

The fact that she was of the Fraga clan would have been enough for him to be wary as they usually kept themselves secluded from the rest of society both Magical and otherwise. When you saw a Fraga magus they were generally working as freelancers or simply accomplishing personal or family goals only known to them.

Bazett was an exception to this as she unlike her clan decided to join the Magus Association as an enforcer like Jolon. They had met on assignment on multiple occasions he even had a couple of conversations with the women though he doubted he made a lasting impression on her as for the most part she seemed to just desire to be alone and do her job.

He didn't really hold it against her as the magus association was set up so that everyone even a first generation was a rival in the search for the Root. People still networked and socialized though forging alliances through marriage, personnel agreements or other methods that they deem reasonable. In the end like magecraft it all came down to equivalent exchange, when a magus did something they generally expected an appropriate response unless they were careless or simply stupid.

What bothered him though wasn't that she was a master for as far as he could tell from his limited experience around Bazett wouldn't do anything that would cause lasting harm though he couldn't say for sure. His instincts told him though that, that wouldn't be a issue and they were generally right.

The true issue lied with the fact that her command spells were stolen. Either out of some sort of ambush or betrayal someone stole them and no doubt her Servant along with it. He was lucky though in that she was still alive and if she woke up he would be able to identify who stole them and act appropriately.

That would be awhile though.

**_FUYUKI CITY, JAPAN, 4 DAYS UNTIL HEAVENS FEEL_**

Jolon was currently in the midst of changing Bazett's bandages on her arm. She had been sleeping for the last eighteen hour and from what he could tell she was just resting. Even with the head injury she sustained from whoever attacked it looked as if she would be fine and most likely be waking up soon.

Jolon finished and got up walking towards the fridge to grab some water. As he bent down to grab it he paused a smirk creeping on his face.

"It seems that the Fraga clans manners leave something to be desired eh Bazett?" He said not moving from his position.

Bazett was currently standing behind him she had a knife drawn and poking the back of his neck.

"It is you isn't it?" She said a mixture of confusion and irritation.

"Surprised I assume." Jolon said with a chuckle.

"Of course I am, I was the one discovered your damn body!" She shouted the confusion disappearing leaving just plain irritation that was quickly turning into anger.

"My that must have been quite a shock I bet. To see the 'Gray Flames' guts plastered on that wall?" He said sarcasm thick in his voice.

"You should mind your tongue when someone has a knife in your back." she growled.

Jolon tapped his finger three times at the side of the fridge. "What knife?" he chuckled as a knife flew out from the shadows and knocked out Bazett's knife from her hand.

With those words Assassin materialized from the darkness her left hand armed with a cruel looking knife that looked as if they could cut through regular steel as if it was paper a fact that the knife that was once in her right hand proved as it pinned the cheap blade that Bazett took off the table on the wall. Her knife was now currently pinned to the wall with Assassins blade embedded five inches into it.

Bazett was currently glowering at Jolon her confusion and frustration with her current location and predicament as Jolon right now had her in the palm of his hand.

"Now if you would like you can sit down and I'll get you something to eat." He said as he got up from his crouch and regarded her crossed arms and a bemused smirk nodding to Assassin as she once more vanished from sight.

"I am not hungry..." She began as her stomach took the time at this moment to betray her words.

She blushed bright red.

"I thought so. Take a seat and we can talk over food." Jolon said as he went to prepare the food. It was not much simply instant noodles, bottled water and other simple things he could manage. For all of his experience in combat his actual attempts at cooking left much to be desired.

It did not seem to matter to Bazett though as she went into the foods with as much enthusiasm as a five star meal though she had trouble do to her dominate right hand being wrapped in bandages but she made do with her left hand.

After about three minutes she paused from eating and looked up at Jolon. "How?" She said.

"Am I alive?" Jolon asked.

She nodded and Jolon scratched the back of his head.

"That was a husk, a stand in." He said plainly.

"But I was certain that was you, I mean there can't be any way I or any of the senior enforcer let alone the ones who received your corpse could fall for a simple trick like that." She said frustration on the edge of her voice.

"Thank you for stroking my ego Bazett." He chuckled

She scowled.

"To be fair I spent two years on that particular one. I'm pretty sure unless someone inspected carefully they wouldn't be the wiser and I had the sneaking suspicion that one or two of those magi who would be looking at it happened to be paid off." He said with a small smile.

This response seemed to placate her slightly though she was now scowling even harder at Jolon with an intensity that one could say would cause him to ignite.

"Why are you here Grey?" She said.

"Ah, ah, ah A question for a question and that means it's my turn Ms. McRemitz." Jolon smirked waggling a finger at Bazett playfully enjoying the exchange in dialogue, he hasn't had anyone to talk to over the last few months and he was beginning to sorely miss it with all of his work in the shadows and his extensive planning of the war it didn't change the fact that Jolon was at the end of the day a rather social animal.

Bazett on the other hand was not amused at the exchange as she clenched her teeth and looked as if she was about to walk over and punch him upside the head with her good hand.

"Now." He began his tone gaining an edge to it." What pray tell Ms. McRemitz happened to you to leave you in that near death state I found you in?"

She gritted her teeth together so hard that Jolon could hear it from across the table.

"Kotomine." She said with venom in her voice.

"Kirei Kotomine as in the overseer of the War?" Jolon said the first big honest shock he had in this War.

She nodded.

"Tell me exactly what happened Bazett, from the beginning." He said his face transforming and losing all the good humor he had before, the face of the enforcer. This sudden change in the conflict could throw most of his planning out the window with Kotomine's so called impartial stance.

She began telling him everything that led up to where she was now. She started with how she met Kotomine on one of her missions and how he gained her trust. She continued from when she was invited into the war by the Priest and how she summoned her former Servant Lancer and how she had the command spells on her arm stripped off and left to die. Which brought them back here.

"I see." Jolon as he had his hands steepled as he pondered everything she revealed to him.

With Kotomine in this war it changed many things. He knew of the history of the man how he was at one time an Executor for the church as well as being a Magus and a Master in the last war. All of these facts made him very dangerous and with him in the war proper Jolon knew that he would no doubt be one of the larger obstacle in the conflict.

"Who is Lancer Bazett?" he looked up eyeing her.

You could not tell from her body but one could easily remark on the fact that the young women was on some level unnerved by the persona that Jolon adopted in these situations as was any generally normal person or magus even.

It was cold, analytical, deadly and above all else determined that bordered on the ruthless.

"Bazett this situation has gotten much more dangerous, I need to know what we will be facing." Jolon said his expression softening somewhat to put her at ease.

"Cú Chulainn." She said after a moment with a sigh.

"The Hound of Ulster." Jolon muttered as he got up and walked over to a desk in the corner and scribbled something nigh illegible on a spare piece of paper.

With this information he now had the identities of both Caster and Lancer. At this time it looks as if the other Servants haven't been summoned or haven't made any moves that drew any attention to them. He was making headway but Kirei will prove to a large obstacle soon he surmised.

He sighed deeply and looked over to the women who was watching him intently.

"Ask whatever you want Bazett." Jolon said no longer feeling the urge to tease the women.

"Why are you here?" She asked after a short pause.

"You know the answer already. I have been selected as the Master of Assassin for the Fifth Grail War my own reasons for doing so are my own." His expression softening as he answered lifting up his right hand to show her his command spells.

"And that's why you faked your death isn't it?" She said but Jolon doubted he really needed to answer as it was already obvious.

He simply nodded in confirmation reaching over and taking a drink of water with Bazett doing the same. She looked at him for a long time trying to read him but to no avail. She finally asked. "Why did you save me?"

"I couldn't let a pretty women like you die like that now could I?" He said with a small smile.

She didn't respond in anger to that all she gave Jolon was a stare that more than likely indicated 'just say it already'.

He scratched his head. "There was a couple of reasons. First well I was hoping to get information from you but the major reason was that I still owe you."

"For what?" She asked.

"And you don't even remember. You wound me Bazett you really do." He said sarcastically.

"I honestly don't remember." She said.

"About three and a half years ago Apostle hunt in Portugal you saved me from being ghoul chow remember." Honestly he was a little irritated by her not remembering though it was only one in a handful of times he was in a situation where his life was in actual danger though deep down he understood how she could honestly forget. Enforcers were busy with hunting down designates, Apostles and taking care of the paperwork after.

Many people would think that being an enforcer was basically akin to being a hit man, muscle or a janitor for the Associations more persistent messes which was true about eighty percent of the time. The rest of the time though you spent your days filling out reports, making sure Thautmology was kept secret and all other sorts of tedious busywork which the people directly involved with said events got the first wave of before they sent it through the nightmare bureaucracy of the Association and filed away.

This may be why Jolon entertained the thought of going freelance on more than one occasion at least they didn't have to deal with the paperwork which he hates almost more than Mapo Tofu. Though the main reason he stayed was the resources, even with what amounted to a mountain of red tape he could do without Jolon doubted that he would be where he was if not for the funds and education Clock Tower provided. There was a chance that he would revaluate when the war ended.

"Anyways it doesn't really matter now so there is no use getting hung up on it." He shrugged.

"So what happens now?" She asked looking at him with an expression of caution.

"Well what do you want to do?"

"Kill Kirei for one." She said gritting her teeth at the thought of the priest.

"While I do think that is an appropriate goal, it is most likely also not a wise one." Jolon said calmly eyeing the nearly seething Fraga in front of him.

"Why is that?" She shot at him.

"Think about it. Kotomine most likely didn't do this out of a whim he has an overarching goal to do this and as such must have made appropriate plans to see it through." He paused for a moment. "Also I doubt you could do much with that right arm, if you confronted him now he would just finish the job."

Bazett grimaced at her wrapped arm. While Jolon did what he could it didn't change the fact that she nearly lost her right arm the damage done to it would take some time to recover and even then the nerve damage she suffered didn't guarantee she would recover full functionality unless some Mystery or other method was implemented.

"The arm won't be a problem but I'll need time." She said looking up at Jolon.

"Time for what?" Jolon said tilting his head somewhat.

"I can recover the arms functionality but it will take time to prepare."

"I see and what will you do in the mean time do you have any backup locations to fall back to?"

" I hid some of my supplies in a manor near the edge of the city." She said shifting slightly.

"Bazett are you simply staying to kill Kotomine if so it is a fool's errand. He defeated you yes and your pride has been wounded no doubt but is it worth dying over it." He pointed out.

She paused her expression a mixture between anger, and a strong-willed determination.

"Jolon why are you fighting here?" She put simply and Jolon knew right there that, that was his answer.

Asking why you would fight for a wish a miracle was no doubt a very close to home issue. It represented the goals hopes and desires of the individuals that pursued them.

He smiled a small nigh unnoticeable one before saying. "Well I can't have you running around like a cripple with that arm without watching over you I guess can stay here if you would like, Lord knows I have the space."

Aside from the old break room that they were in the only other room in use was an old supervisors room which was being used as his proper workshop where he kept the Alston's body and a majority of his books. Other than that he had dozens of rooms that could accommodate her.

"Why would you suggest this?" She said her tone cautious.

"Well while you have your goals I doubt that they would cause much disruption in the world at large as well I was hoping that you would be open to an alliance of sorts." Jolon said his tone calm, serious and reserved.

"Again why would you suggest this I am a Master who has had her Command Spells stripped from her." She said her tone remaining the same.

"You sell yourself short with said Master being of the famous Fraga clan and in all honesty I can't account for everything in this war an alliance with you could save both of our skins in the long run."

She studied him for a long time her face unchanging as she mulled over his proposal.

"I will agree to this on the condition that you do not interfere with me killing Kirei, I want his head and I intend to have satisfaction in that regard as well this Alliance will be moot once we are all that remain understood." It wasn't a question so much as it was a laying down of the law as she adopted a posture not dissimilar to Jolons own 'Enforcer Persona'.

"Very well then." He said entering his own Persona once more. They both knew that this was an Alliance of convenience and knew full well that once it came to an end they would face each other most likely to the death.

"It looks like we reached an agreement then." She said her tone relaxing as she adopted a small smile.

"If you wish I can send Assassin with you when you gather your supplies and move them over here." Jolon said as he to slipped away from the 'Enforcer' and once more wore his calm reassured smile.

"That will not be necessary I may be currently one handed I can handle myself." She said with a calm voice as she seemed to relax.

"While that is good I think that you may want to wait until morning, at least then the odds of you running across a Servant is low." He said as he nodded to a clock which currently told the time of 3:32am.

"Also." He continued. " You need to rest you just awoke and shouldn't be moving around too much."

"You are not my mother." She growled but much less seriously than before.

"That may be true but I am your doctor in a way and I say you need sleep. You don't need to worry about any enemies I've set up enough bounded fields to at least make sure that we will not be caught unaware." He countered he couldn't have his new partner taking on more than she could handle right now and injuring herself further.

"Now if you'll excuse me I've got some required reading to look into." He said as he picked up his notepad and brought attention to the hastily scrawled Cú Chulainn he wrote on it earlier. If he was going to be forced to face that legend sooner than later he was going to be prepared for it.

As he got up to leave he made it halfway out of the door before he heard. "Wait."

He stopped and turned to face the Fraga Magus who got up from her seat and was looking at him intently.

"Thank you." She said.

"You may want to wait to dish out the praise until after this War ends Bazett, by saving you I may have simply just delayed the inevitable as there is a strong chance that both of us could end up dead before the week is even out." He said as he watched Bazett as well with the same intensity.

"Still though thank you." She said again and regarded him with a short nod.

He returned the nod before leaving simply saying. "Sleep well then."

**_And I think I will leave it here for now. To all who are wondering yes this will basically be a team up it may stay like that for the entirety of the fic but you never know._**

**_ In regards to Jolon's abilities I wanted to give some justification for it. His medical Magecraft could be translated to him being simply a paramedic for the most part with him unable to completely mend Bazetts arm. I also wanted it to somewhat juxtapose his combat abilities as a magi which as many of you could probably guess at involves him burning people._**

**_And in regards to the arm. In canon it was completely severed by Kirei but I changed it somewhat as I couldn't see Jolon reattaching severed limbs and I saw it as an acceptable divergence from canon._**

**_If I am missing anything important in terms of Canon please notify me I can't really read the entire Type-Moon Wiki and I do enjoy feedback so please review_**

**_Again anything is welcome be it good or bad. _**


	4. The First Night

**_I Don't own anything except the OC (and even then I don't care if anyone besides me uses him) everything else belongs to their respective owners._**

**_So let the Wheel of Fate Turn._**

**_FUYUKI CITY, JAPAN, TWO HOURS BEFORE THE HEAVENS FEEL_**

The air was still as if the world itself was holding its breath in anticipation for the conflict. The magi who have been selected as masters have been preparing for this time. It is now known that six of the seven Servants have been summoned. The War is unavoidable now the rules are set, the Seven will seek out each other and slaughter until only one remains to claim their prize The Holy Grail and with that chalice in their hands they will hold the fate of the world.

The first challenge has been called out and the moment they begin it will be the signal for all others to begin making their moves.

At the edge of the forest that overlooked the local school grounds Jolon and Assassin stood waiting. Jolon had no inclination to answer the challenge and was simply waiting for someone else to answer the call. It would do no good for Jolon to rush out guns ablaze and attack without first knowing who it was as that didn't play to his Servants strengths.

As well he didn't have much information on the other Servants aside from Caster and Lancer. He knew that the Tohsaka heir had summoned her own not three days ago the sudden disturbance in the ether surrounding said residence was a clear indicator of that. The same could also be said for the Matou Residence and the Einzbern Castle. For the Einzbern it was difficult getting a reading as Jolons Familiars could not break through the Bounded Fields that the old magi family had taken the time to prepare.

Jolon was currently observing the soon to be battlefield at a distance through a pair of binoculars, he didn't feel the need to bother with the more esoteric methods when an easy solution was within his grasp. Assassin didn't need such things and was quietly observing as well to Jolons left both ready to retreat at a moment's notice. It was earlier that same afternoon where they felt it, the challenge no doubt drawing the more proud servants and masters to meet it.

Then a figure began to approach. Through the binoculars he saw the man he was tall dark skinned with white hair and was dressed in red and black. From his general appearance he was no doubt a Servant but he wasn't sure if he was the one who issued the challenge.

Then out of nowhere another figure appeared dressed in blue and wielding a blood red spear.

"Lancer." Jolon breathed.

"Master I have to ask why did you insist on coming here yourself when you could have easily sent a Familiar to observe?" Assassin asked not taking her analytical eyes off the two men.

"It's foolish but this is the first true engagement of the War it seems only proper to see it in person. Besides you can't always trust what you aren't really seeing." He said calmly his eyes as well not leaving the two men.

"And what of that women?" she asked her tone clinical.

"I trust her enough to leave her at the base, she still needs time to recover and prepare whatever it is she is doing and I know her well enough that she will not go back on her word."

Jolon was very curious as to what Bazett was preparing as three days ago after returned from her for lack of better words stash with a large duffle bag and a metal canister that she proceeded to move out of sight. She then began inscribing ruins into large straps of some unidentifiable fabric that she took from her bag with the help of a jewellers glass.

Jolon was interested to say the least as the Fraga clan are known for their mastery over ruins and the Fragarach but after many dirty looks from the women he decided it would be best not to snoop. From what he had seen of that women before her left hook could do as much damage as her right.

And he liked his head firmly attached.

"It's about to begin." Assassin almost whispered in a manner that could almost be mistaken for anticipation.

The two figures who stood at the opposite ends of the field suddenly moved with such speed The Lancer with his blood red spear and the Red clad warrior wielding twin black and white Pian Dao and colliding with each other the ringing in of metal audible even from their hiding spot.

The two beings moved with such inhuman speed it was nearly impossible to follow it. The ferocity of the two left no doubt on their strength.

Then suddenly the twin Noble Phantasm's of the Red broke and he moved back away from the path of the lance and then suddenly two identical Phantasms appeared once more in his hands.

"Huh." Jolon said under his breath.

This continued the two not giving up any considerable ground. The Red Warrior lost his Swords five more times within the ten minute clash but every time he lost them he would immediately had new ones appear in his hands and proceeded to continue in his attack.

"Is that Projection?" Jolon muttered as he watched the red clad warrior.

It looked as if this battle would continue throughout the entire night and even now it looked as if the battle could go either way with neither giving an inch their weapon mere blurs.

"Such is the strength of Heroic Spirits it seems." Jolon said during the entire engagement he did not stop observing the two.

The Servant of Tohsaka was an interesting character though his fighting style giving no hints to who the Servant was. And whatever he used to recreate the blades in his hands seemed to be magecraft from what he could tell but there was something different about it.

"He is an odd one isn't he?" Jolon asked no one in particular. Assassin didn't pay much attention to the words.

"Who's there?" Lancer said as he broke away from the engagement causing Jolon to jump in surprise thinking that he and Assassin were discovered.

His attention though it seems was directed at another a boy who seemed to have wandered onto the edge of the Servants field of battle. A witness.

It was general practice in the Grail war that any and all accidental witness's be dealt with appropriately which generally translated to said witness being killed.

He focused his attention on the boy and was surprised to find it was Shirou Emiya.

"Assassin I thought you told me that he was uninvolved?" Jolon said sharply turning his attention to the masked killer beside him.

"Yes I did and as before he does not show any proper knowledge of the War he _was_ uninvolved." Assassin replied as she to silently watched the red-head.

It was now when Shirou began to run trying to get as far away as he could from the Lance wielder as he gave chase like a dog trained for the hunt. He made good time as he was quickly out of the sight of Jolon. It was obvious though that he would not get away, his fate was sealed the moment he laid eyes on that battle.

"It matters little now it seems eh." Jolon muttered as he watched the remaining warrior as he stood in the middle of what was once his Battlefield. Then from the school a familiar young women ran out towards him.

Rin Tohsaka.

The young head to the Tohsaka family and his old acquaintance began to converse quickly with her Servant and then ran in the direction that the Emiya ran in.

Again though the Archer was motionless for ten seconds before he turned, and looked straight at Jolon with such a gaze that Jolon felt himself shiver, he knew where they were. Without a word he vanished once more.

"What now Master?"

"We stay here for the moment I wish to see how this will turn out." He said something telling him that something more or less unusual will come from this confrontation.

"He knows we are here." Assassin said plainly.

"You can tell as well though that the Archer has no intention on engaging us, not tonight at least."

So they waited about ten minutes past before Tohsaka left the school building and five minutes after Shirou Emiya did as well with a noticeable red stain on his school uniform.

"Well there you have it he's alive, who knew little Rin had it in her." Jolon said with a quirked eyebrow.

When he met her on those rare occasions during the early years of his tutelage Jolon found Rin to be aloof and sharp not someone who would go out off her way to save a life. But here the Emiya was living proof of the girls true nature. If he was more like his teacher he would make a comment on the lines of calling her a bleeding heart just to see the reaction if this came up later. After nine years of the Dead Apostle Ancestors teachings it wouldn't be wrong to say that a little of grandpa Zel rubbed off on him.

'The boy though...' Jolon pondered.

"Assassin we're following the boy." Jolon declared.

"Yes master."

It was no difficulty following him he was so frantic that he seemed unable to focus on anything except getting home.

'Understandable seeing as he took a spear through the heart.' Jolon thought as he watched him run down the streets even from a distance he could make out his bloodstained school uniform.

Jolon also noticed that Shirou was being trailed by someone else. A Servant to be precise.

'Most likely Lancer I would think seeing as he no doubt knows that his quarry live and intends on finishing the job.' The Hound of Ulster most likely wouldn't notice him or pay him much mind if he did anyway.

It was a couple minutes later when they finally managed to reach the Emiya residence. Jolon knew the location and the layout of the home thanks to Assassin and was also aware of a rather interesting bounded field that had been set up around the old samurai compound. It was meant to alert the residents in case of less than peaceful guests and was rather complex and well put together. It was apparent from the reports that the late Kiritsugu Emiya must have set it up seeing as the kid held no remarkable talent gleamed from Assassins reports.

That was why he waited on the edge of the Field until he felt the unmistakable presence of the Lancer as he entered the perimeter of the kids home in a calm stride as if he was simply out for a pleasant late night stroll instead of going in to commit first degree murder.

The sudden crash that could be heard from the inside of the house was dull as the Lancer went to work allowing both Jolon and Assassin to enter the perimeter without being noticed due to the residents understandable distraction in the form of the Hound of Ulster. They deigned to enter over the wall at the back so as to remain undetected while a simple task for Assassin was a bit more challenging but not impossible for Jolon.

Not ten seconds after getting into position on the wall of the old Samurai compound did the body of Shirou Emiya come flying through a glass door by way of kick by Lancer. He scrambled to his feet and ran towards the shed sitting by the wall of the complex twenty feet to Jolon's right.

The Lancer gave chase swiftly closing the distance within two breaths.

"He's toying with him now." Assassin remarked as she watched the two with an impassive eye.

The Lancer gave him another kick sending him flying into the side building. As he got up clutching his side he staggered into the building with Cu Chulainn walking towards him confident his prey could not escape.

"This is quite disappointing it seemed that the boy might have had something but I guess I was wr..." He was cut off by a flash of bright blue light that came from the shed. It was so bright Jolon had to shield his eyes from.

When the light died down what came next was the distinctive and unmistakable sound of clashing metal as Jolon eyes adjusted just in time to see the Lancer be forced back by a figure with golden hair garbed in blue and white that seemed to hold herself with such poise that it seemed to command respect and loyalty from those around her.

"The Final Servant has been summoned." Assassin intoned.

The clash continued as the Lancer and the unnamed Servant continued barely giving any ground. With the other Servants stance it seemed logical she was the Saber Servant even if her blade was invisible, concealed by wind magic.

Jolon was watching with great interest as Saber and Lancer both charged for another engagement. Both of them moved with savage grace and strength that could not be rivaled. It was definitely something one see once in a lifetime if at all.

'And here I am one of the participants who has the front row seat to multiple engagements on par if not greater than this. Honestly if I wasn't in mortal danger just by being within a hundred miles of this city I would count myself lucky.' Jolon mused.

**_ Gáe Bulg! _**Lancer roared as his lance rushed forward homing on its target that it would meet without fail as reality warped and the cursed lance hit Saber and seemed to lift her sending her back a few feet.

She got up looking very little worse for wear.

'it seemed that Lancers Noble Phantasm didn't do enough damage to take Saber down... pity would have saved me the trouble.' Jolon thought

"That lance... you are the hound of Ulster." Saber said.

"Humph that's what I hate about my weapon using it leaves my identity open." he grumbled as he got out of his battle stance. "Unfortunately due to my Master being a coward I must retreat for now."

"Your leaving?" Saber said her calm stern tone betraying a little annoyance.

"If you really wish to continue this battle you are free to give chase but know this if you do I will not hesitate to kill you.

After he left there was only Saber and Shirou Emiya who came out of the shed moments later looking dazed and confused.

"I could kill him now master we have the element of surprise and he is wide open."

"No doing that would get us nowhere. The boy isn't exactly all that strong and from your reports letting him run around wouldn't be all that bad. With what you described he has something akin to a hero complex so nothing overly terrible will come from him and you never know he might even be useful later down the line if we play our cards right." Jolon explained looking at Shirou's expression with mild amusement as he conversed with his knew Servant as his entire world seemed to get flipped in one night.

"Archer is approaching Master." Assassin said her body snapped to full attention.

"I guess it's time to leave then I can probably trust Rin to fill him in on the details. Seeing as she in a way has to take responsibility for the kid now." With that Assassin wrapped her arm around his waist and leapt into the air unnoticed thanks to presence concealment.

After a few more leaps they were about three blokes away they landed quietly in the middle of the street with nobody around to take notice. Jolon adjusted himself from the little trip they made righting his coat and shirt that got blown around haphazardly.

"That's good, I think I can walk from here Assassin..." He paused adjusting his spectacles as he notice something, smoke.

His detection was going off strongly in a way that leant towards a strong source in short a Servant. Somewhere close by a servant was active and not being subtle about it in anyway making them painfully easy to track in all honesty a rank amateur in control.

"Assassin if you would kindly hide yourself and follow me lets go see who we have before we head home for the night." She wordlessly vanished as Jolon started down the street towards a park.

He followed the trail of the Servants prana signature the smoke in this case seemed to be Crimson of blood something that caused him to take in a deep breath.

He was running scenario's through his head. The reason why he was moving to confront this servant was due to the fact that he could accurately judge this servants general strength and for some reason it seemed subdued and out of sync with itself causing it to be weaker than most, Assassin while it was not her Classes strong point could challenge it head on and have a good chance. He knew the general whereabouts of Saber and Archer and also guessed that Lancer was about but most likely not going to engage anyone else tonight. As well the signature was not Casters and it was still a little too early for her to be making any major movements. Finally it was definitely not Berserker because A the use of this Servant is to unreliable to be used by the Einzbern so by process of elimination it would be Rider and the Matou's .

As he entered the park the presence was getting stronger as he took a breath in partly due to nerves as it would be his first confrontation in the war.

He paused his breath catching. He could smell it in the air, blood.

With Assassin concealed he approached the center of the signature as he saw the one responsible. He first saw them as simply to shadowy outlines due to the poor lighting of the park.

"Assassin remain concealed until I give the go ahead I would like very much like to... speak to our friends over there." Jolon said telepathically to his servant.

As he got closer though he could make out the features of the two in question.

The first figure the boy and obviously the Master was a high school student as he wore the same uniform as Shirou Emiya and had blue curly hair and pale blue eyes. From these features Jolon easily identified from the reports from Assassin and his Familiars reports as Shinji Matou.

His Servant on the other hand was different to say the least she was tall and slender. She was dressed in a black dress that came up almost to the inappropriate levels with thigh length boots and oddly a blindfold, her hair was purple and came down to just about her ankles. The way that the Servant held herself gave her the image of a graceful hunter with the smell of blood which was without a doubt coming from her. She noticed Jolon much sooner than her Master did.

He could see Shinji more clearly now as he came closer. He seemed to be more focused on something else. Then he saw it laying in front of him a body. It was female and she was unconscious and from the smell of blood that permeated the air was most likely in bad condition. From the look of it though she was alive.

The kid finally noticed Jolon. "Ah who do we have here?" He said with a smirk on his face and with a tone of voice that would make anyone's skin crawl.

"Just a foreign businessman out for a walk." He said with a smile.

Jolon had his hands in his pockets hiding his command spells from view. Also though he gripped his hands around two pieces of fabric in each pocket.

"Oh are you now. well maybe I can introduce you to my friend here." He said with a smirk giving rider a signal. She began to move cautiously with a predatory grace she knew what he was and why he was there and she was preparing for his Servant more than Jolon.

It was around then Jolon noticed the blood on Rider's lips. He began to subtly go through famous/ infamous blood-themed individuals through myth and history but couldn't think of any specific individuals.

"While I would enjoy spending time with this lovely lady, I am afraid that the sight and smell of blood on you is rather disconcerting. So if you would kindly." Jolon said taking his left hand out of his pocket and snapping his fingers giving the signal to Assassin who materialized out from the shadows and attacked.

Rider leapt deftly aside to avoid the strike as a set of chains with a nail on the end appeared in her hands as she stopped a couple feet in front of her Master. Shinji had a surprised look on his face.

"Are you really that daft kid?" Jolon asked with a faint chuckle, finding it funny that someone who was a part of the ritual wouldn't catch on sooner.

"Don't you mock me." He growled in response.

"But you make it so easy."

"I'll show you. RIDER KILL THEM!" He shouted in fury.

Upon his command Rider went on the attack, leaping forward and throwing the bladed chain at Assassin. She responded by using her dagger strike at it, not stopping it but changing the direction somewhat so that the attack missed. It was then Assassin reached for her side and in one smooth motion threw one of the many throwing daggers that she kept on her at Rider who simply avoided it by moving her head to the side.

This continued with the two females exchanging blows neither scoring a direct hit. Assassin struck with agility and precision that was expected of her class while avoiding Rider with a series of acrobatic movements that were a sight to behold. With Rider she moved with agility striking with her weapon that was akin to a snake attacking its prey, the blindfold she wore not impeding her in the slightest.

Jolon studied it for a moment a pang of familiarity as he adjusted his glasses.

The battle continued evenly with no side scoring any hits. The spectacle looking more and more like a deadly dance with the participants movements gain an otherworldly quality that would be quite absorbing if he wasn't paying attention to his other enemy.

Shinji Matou was currently giving his full attention to the Servants not remembering that he had an enemy not ten metres away from him.

He scoffed silently as he simply pulled out a glove from his right pocket and pulled it on. The glove was of black leather that hug tightly to the skin on his hand. on it though were hundreds of blood red ruins adorning it from the tips of his fingers to the palm and back of his hand.

With the mental crack of lightning his circuits sprung to life as he brings his hand up and launches an orb of compressed air at the Matou. His attention snaps away from the two Heroic Spirits as his eyes widen as he sees the ball of manipulated air and flinches in sheer panic as he covers his face in a pathetic attempt to brace himself.

Then the orb stops mere inch's from his face. Shinji hold the position for three seconds before realizing nothing happened. Looking at Jolon he smirks. "What was that supposed to be?"

"You'll see." Jolon smiled as he pointed his hand in the shape of a mock gun and with an inconsiderable amount of prana sent a small fireball no bigger than a marble towards the swirling orb of air.

Jolon notices quickly that Rider broke off from her attack and speed towards her master with the speed of a bullet grabbing Shinji and moving back several metres before the mini-fireball reached its target.

**_BOOM!_**

As the flame makes contact with the orb the compressed oxygen ignited causing an explosion that rang out through the still night.

Rider though was able to distance herself safely away from the detonation bringing her master a safe distance away. It was not without cost though as it seems that Assassin was able to score a hit with one of her dirks as she broke off from their battle as it was currently burrowed three inch's into the back of her calf.

Rider lets Shinji go and he rights himself. His expression is one of surprise as in his mind what happened in less than ten seconds shocked him as well as noticing that his Servant was now injured.

"You idiot how could you let yourself be injured by them you're useless!" Shinji yelled, the fact that without Rider he would be dead was lost to him.

"A Servant is only as efficient as its Master you know." Jolon said with a scowl, Shinji was starting to really get on his nerves.

"What's that supposed to mean." he growled indignantly at Jolon.

"Exactly what I said. Even in the space of five minutes it is painfully obvious that you are no Magus even if you descend from the Makiri. As well I can tell you are providing no prana to your Servant meaning that she can only fight with a fraction of her strength which is still quite considerable even with such a pathetic individual such as you as her Master." Jolon sighed before continuing. "Honestly the reason why you were chosen to represent your family could probably counted as there was nobody willing or able to do so. You were there last choice weren't you?"

"Y-you bastard." He growled his face turning purple with rage.

"Now if you would kindly hand over your command spells so we could call this a night as it is getting late and I would like to get some sleep." Jolon finished with a small smile.

"I'll never give up my spells. RIDER ATTACK KILL T..."

"That is quite enough boy." a voice interrupted him.

An old man appears almost out of nowhere from the darkness.

"I honestly wasn't expecting much out of you but I thought you would at least keep your head down and gather your strength before engaging another enemy." The man says his voice is cold and dark.

Jolon senses something strange about both the prana signature and the man itself. His 'aura' was off like it was not wholly their and it was dark and ominous while the man itself was unsettling. To Jolon the man's very being spoke of unhallowed age a twisted nature and of secrets best left forgotten. Jolon also noted a smell of actual decay coming from him.

"G-grandfather what are you doing here?" Shinji rang out.

Jolon paused in a moment of realization. Shinji's grandfather the head of the Matou family and one of the people who designed the Heaven's Feel ritual.

Zouken Matou.

**_And I'll leave it there. got to say it's been awhile but I've been busy to say the least moving into my own place and getting a new job I haven't had much time to myself as well I recently came across a copy of Fate/ Extra so yeah._**

**_In terms of this Chapter I was a bit touch and go because I had multiple ways I wanted to handle it but wasn't sure which would be the best as my choices would take the story in vastly different directions so your opinions on my choice are welcome._**

**_As well as Bazett, I know she got sidelined this chapter but I have a reason for it and promise she will be more involved as the story continues._**

**_As Always all reviews are welcome. _** ****


End file.
